Open trading account 
The government shutdown was virtually ignored by the markets two days ago as the news of parks and non essential services going offline was not felt to be detrimental to the economy in first instance.The situation is like a degrading commodity and it’s the sentiment that we need to watch. It’s like a ripe piece of fruit that will slowly go mouldy. We’ve already seen comments on the site from people affected by child support cheques delayed and not turning up. Let’s be clear, although we may be sitting here trading for a living and largely unaffected by the shutdown the economic costs started racking up from day one. People off work, delays in wage payments, lost tourism, backlogs of work building up, it all has a $ cost attached to it, so while we sit and wait for a solution the adverse affects are mounting up.
It won’t take long for wages and claim money to run out which will impact the everyday economy and when people are hit in the pocket that’s when sentiment starts to turn. There’s always been a big disassociation between Wall Street and main street and when main street really starts to get the hump over this then Wall Street will be hit. I think today is the first day we’re really starting to see the deterioration in sentiment. Yes, we may see the US treasury headlines as sensationalism, but to the average man and woman on the street it’s another negative headline and another reminder that the politicos are messing up their lives.
Sentiment is a very big part of my trading. Being able to feel a mood of a market or an economy or underlying fundamentals is a big part of the jigsaw that helps me decide possible directions. It doesn’t equate into buy and sell numbers, but adds to my mental checklist of things to look at.
If nothing positive comes out before, and over the weekend, then the dollar could be in trouble come Monday. We should also be aware that a deterioration may not be positive for the euro and pound as it could lead to a big risk off scenario as possible domino effects come to light.
Sentiment is starting to turn and when it goes it will go quickly. Yes we could get a solution at any time, but the longer it drags on the quicker we’re going to see the market react. I feel a storm brewing.